{"id":961,"date":"2016-02-26T19:17:11","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T19:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.keen.com\/newarticles\/uncategorized\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships"},"modified":"2021-05-24T20:07:11","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T20:07:11","slug":"voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships","title":{"rendered":"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\"Love<\/a><\/p>\n

Common advice for a first date is not to talk about religion or politics, and that is often a pretty good guideline. After all, you don\u2019t know each other well, and it is easy to misunderstand where the other person is coming from. It\u2019s considered impolite to bring these topics up, and it\u2019s usually much better to stick with family, jobs, and other low-key, getting-to-know-you-type conversations<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But as the relationship progresses, such issues will inevitably arise. After all, even people who say they don\u2019t care about politics care about issues that affect their lives, such as taxes, war, the economy, the environment and guns. Politics are constantly intersecting our lives. And in an election year, emotions can get heightened. We live in a time of polarizing politics and that can have a serious impact on our relationships. What should you do if the person you\u2019ve been dating turns out to have beliefs the exact opposite of yours?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do Politics Really Matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, I was consulting with a young woman named Kate. Kate had been seeing a guy for a few months, and they got along great. They loved going to watch basketball (Kate played in college), and enjoyed being around each other. Recently, they were at a bar watching a game, and after it was over, the TV lingered on the same channel and transitioned to the news. Even though the sound was off, they could clearly see one of this year\u2019s candidates giving a speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kate wasn\u2019t much into politics and was a little surprised when her date started talking about how much he wanted this guy to be the next President. She asked, \u201cWhy?\u201d and he went into a lengthy diatribe about immigration. This surprised Kate\u2014it had never come up before. She disagreed with him and felt that his stances made her uncomfortable. Not wanting to argue, and not believing that you should talk politics on a date, she made noncommittal noises and changed the subject to something they both could agree on\u2014terrible referees in the game they had watched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kate told this story to her friends, and they advised her not to worry. \u201cIt\u2019s just politics,\u201d they said, and Kate and her new guy got along so well otherwise. But as I talked with her, she seemed unconvinced by that. She seemed to think it mattered a lot\u2014and I agreed.<\/p>\n

A Relationship Can Work with Political Disagreements<\/strong><\/p>\n

If looking for a casual encounter, a few fun dates, and nothing more, none of this would really be a concern (to an extent). But when building a relationship, worldviews do matter. I\u2019m not referring to culture\u2014surely, things like movies, books, and music matter, but they are issues people can get around, for the most part. It can even be fun to expose someone to something new.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t always the case with politics. A person\u2019s political stance is often a matter of deeply held beliefs, and these beliefs can really say something about the person. It says what he or she cares about and finds important, and what governs his or her relations with other people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t an end-all be-all, of course. People in real life are not political laundry lists. Leaning Democratic doesn\u2019t mean you absolutely support XYZ. Being a Republican doesn\u2019t mean that every part of their national platform is your gospel. Politics might be something that rarely comes up. Or if it does come up, there can be disagreement between the two of you and that can be healthy. Passionate opinions can be a great spark, especially if there is an infrastructure of mutual respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But If It Doesn\u2019t Work, It\u2019s OK\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

All that said, people can hold beliefs passionately, and these beliefs can be a huge part of a personality. If you believe very strongly that the government shouldn\u2019t have any power over gun sales, and your partner believes it should (or vice versa), this can be a cause of huge disagreement. These issues come up a lot, sometimes weekly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Agreeing not to talk about things doesn\u2019t always work, especially if you are truly passionate. You don\u2019t want to have to bury a part of your personality just to keep a mutual peace. That doesn\u2019t even work. It can just lead to resentment and a displacement of emotion\u2014gun control can burble into a dispute over dishes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, the key is communication. Talk about how you will talk to each other about these issues. Communicate about a respectful exchange of beliefs. Set limits for when it can be discussed, but don\u2019t avoid it altogether. In a relationship, you must feel free to be yourself and not sublimate a part of your personality for some fake veneer of peace. That won\u2019t work long term.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And if you feel after a bit of time that it isn\u2019t going to work out because of incompatibility<\/a>, don\u2019t consider that to be a failure. Your belief system speaks to who you are. Walking away from something because you feel uncomfortable about being yourself is not a bad reason — it is one of the best. In the end, a successful relationship is one in which both sides feel the fullness of their mutual expression. If the ballot box is interfering with the bedroom, it\u2019s OK to choose the former.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not sure if your and your partner\u2019s differing political beliefs are a deal breaker? Advisors at KEEN.com<\/a> can help provide some clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Common advice for a first date is not to talk about religion or politics, and that is often a pretty good guideline. After all, you don\u2019t know each other well, and it is easy to misunderstand where the other person is coming from. It\u2019s considered impolite to bring these topics up, and it\u2019s usually much …<\/p>\n

You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[413,464],"class_list":["post-961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-love","tag-political-beliefs","tag-resolutions"],"yoast_head":"\nYou\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships - Keen Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As primary season heats up, political beliefs can drive otherwise compatible people apart. Know the difference between a friendly debate and when to let it go.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Keen Editorial Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Keen Editorial Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/28dd5a9acbd7334178ff47f404955a71\"},\"headline\":\"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-26T19:17:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-24T20:07:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships\"},\"wordCount\":943,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"political beliefs\",\"resolutions\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Love\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships\",\"name\":\"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships - Keen Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-26T19:17:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-24T20:07:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"As primary season heats up, political beliefs can drive otherwise compatible people apart. Know the difference between a friendly debate and when to let it go.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/\",\"name\":\"Keen Articles\",\"description\":\"Articles\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Keen\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/keen-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/keen-logo.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":664,\"caption\":\"Keen\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KeenPsychics\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/KeenPsychic\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/keenpsychics\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/28dd5a9acbd7334178ff47f404955a71\",\"name\":\"Keen Editorial Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d01dd6a1a0e39069f7f7bf8812d8e04?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d01dd6a1a0e39069f7f7bf8812d8e04?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Keen Editorial Staff\"},\"description\":\"Keen's Editorial Staff is made up of world-class writers, astrologers, psychics, and advisors with diverse experience and spiritual sensitivity.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/author\/keeneditorialstaff\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships - Keen Articles","description":"As primary season heats up, political beliefs can drive otherwise compatible people apart. Know the difference between a friendly debate and when to let it go.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Keen Editorial Staff","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships"},"author":{"name":"Keen Editorial Staff","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/28dd5a9acbd7334178ff47f404955a71"},"headline":"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships","datePublished":"2016-02-26T19:17:11+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-24T20:07:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships"},"wordCount":943,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["political beliefs","resolutions"],"articleSection":["Love"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships","url":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships","name":"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships - Keen Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2016-02-26T19:17:11+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-24T20:07:11+00:00","description":"As primary season heats up, political beliefs can drive otherwise compatible people apart. Know the difference between a friendly debate and when to let it go.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/love\/voting-for-who-when-political-beliefs-affect-relationships#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"You\u2019re Voting for Who? When Political Beliefs Affect Relationships"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/","name":"Keen Articles","description":"Articles","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#organization","name":"Keen","url":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/keen-logo.png","contentUrl":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/keen-logo.png","width":2560,"height":664,"caption":"Keen"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KeenPsychics\/","https:\/\/x.com\/KeenPsychic","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/keenpsychics\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/28dd5a9acbd7334178ff47f404955a71","name":"Keen Editorial Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d01dd6a1a0e39069f7f7bf8812d8e04?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d01dd6a1a0e39069f7f7bf8812d8e04?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Keen Editorial Staff"},"description":"Keen's Editorial Staff is made up of world-class writers, astrologers, psychics, and advisors with diverse experience and spiritual sensitivity.","url":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/author\/keeneditorialstaff"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7870,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions\/7870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.keen.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}